Excellence Labs

These days, the questions that keep SME owners awake at night are far from trivial: How can I keep my company profitable when the world is changing faster than my business plan? How do I keep my team on the same page? Which AI tools are genuinely useful, and which are just a hype? How will I keep my head above water and my leadership up to date, day in day out?

You will find a description of the seven modules below. Each module is led by a Vlerick expert or seasoned entrepreneur. We always combine perceptive insights, direct applicability for your own company and testimonials from SMEs who have already faced the challenge. 

MODULES

Module 1 Geopolitics and internationalisation applied to your business model

From geopolitical uncertainty to a more resilient business model. How do I reinvent my company in an unpredictable context?

Tariffs, disrupted supply chains, energy prices, sanctions: geopolitical turbulence is no longer an abstract, macro-economic phenomenon. It directly affects your suppliers, margins and strategic choices, even if you’re a small, locally based, Flemish SME with international customers or suppliers.

In this module, we translate large-scale geopolitical and economic trends into the SME context, with scenario planning as our central method. Today, only 19% of European companies use scenario planning – but those companies that do tend to perform considerably better in terms of their EBITDA. We offer you a clear, usable framework and immediately develop it for a participating SME in the group.

Questions that come up:

• How do I scan my supply chain quickly for geopolitical vulnerabilities?
• Which scenarios do I need to prepare for in my sector?
• How do I communicate about this with my team and customers?
• When is internationalisation a smart move, and when is it a risk too big to take?
• What impact will demographic evolution have on my company, and what trends are relevant to me?

Module 2 How do others see me as a business owner?

An honest picture of your leadership and communication style based on a 360° scan

You lead your company every day, but when was the last time you really heard what your team, suppliers and customers think of you? Not what you hope they would say, but what they are actually thinking.

In a confidential setting, we reveal your profile using an anonymous 360° scan among all your stakeholders. Where do you already excel? Where are your unconscious blind spots? We examine the feedback in small groups, not to judge but to grow.

Questions that come up:

• What impression do I make on my people, even if I’m not aware of it?
• Where’s the mismatch between my intention and my impact?
• How can I give better feedback myself, including feedback to people who have worked for me for a long time?
• How do I communicate in times of crisis or when difficult decisions have to be made?
• How balanced am I as an entrepreneur?
• Why do suppliers like or dislike working with my company?

Module 3 Your figures under control with AI

How do I use AI to budget, forecast and invest more smartly?

As an SME owner, you are often the de facto CFO of your own company. You make daily financial decisions based on your instinct and experience as well as your figures. But do you always see the full picture? AI can bring that picture into focus if you know what tools you need and how to use them.

We go beyond the hype: we get on our laptops and try the tools out live, we build a simple dashboard for budget monitoring together, and we find out what AI-assisted forecasting looks like in a family SME context.

Questions that come up:

• What is the position of AI in the CFO’s office today – and where is it going? How is the financial role of reporting and analysis evolving into forecasting, advice and decision support?
• Which AI tools are reliable for a business on my scale?
• How do I build a financial dashboard without an expensive ERP system?
• How do I tackle forecasting in uncertain times? We take a hands-on approach with the most advanced GPT forecasting models.
• How do I convert forecasts into budgets, scenario planning and proactive performance management?
• What is the role of my accountant or CFO in this new landscape

Module 4 Getting your team on board with change

Culture, adoption and resistance: how do you bring your people with you into a new era?

You might have the best strategy, the smartest tools and the keenest business plan, but if your team isn’t with you, you’re going nowhere. Resistance to change is human. Ignoring that resistance is risky.

In this module, we specifically tackle the human side of innovation and change, with help from Prof. Kurt Verweire’s “Batteries of Change” model. We look at adoption models, communication patterns and how you, the owner, can make a difference.

Questions that come up:

• How do I identify resistance early enough, before it becomes a problem?
• How do I involve my core team in strategic decisions without losing authority?
• Which communication style works to talk about change, and which does not?
• How do I create ambassadors for change within my own organisation?
• How do I get my team to accept the adoption of AI – from cold feet to daily use that makes a difference?

Module 5 Cybersecurity without the jargon

Cybersecurity without technical jargon: a live scan of how secure your business currently is

Most SME owners know that cybersecurity is important. But who knows exactly what might go wrong next week, with their current systems, employees and business partners? Above all: who knows what action should take priority?

In this session, you conduct a scan of your own digital vulnerabilities and convert the results into a concrete action plan with clear priorities, including an interactive simulation in which you experience the impact of a cybersecurity breach as if it were really happening to you. We also discuss the changing regulatory framework, with the NIS2 Directive that directly affects SMEs with 50 employees or more, and the upcoming Cyber Resilience Act. Finally, we consider how AI is changing both the opportunities to attack organisations and organisations' capacity to defend themselves.

Questions that come up:

• What are the priority vulnerabilities in my company and value chain?
• How do I deal with these vulnerabilities as an SME without full-time IT staff?
• How do I keep up with the increasingly complex regulations (NIS2, Cyber Resilience Act)?
• Which tools and partners are reliable and affordable at my scale?

Module 6 Present your action plan

How do you bring everything together in one plan for a futureproof company?

After five modules of learning, reflection and application, now is the moment of truth. You present your plan for the future to the group and a jury: where will your company be in a year’s time? What decisions have you made? What results do you want to see?

You won't be facing the future alone, as the group gives targeted feedback, the facilitators help you to refine your plan, and you end the process with a dashboard you can use to continue to monitor your progress. Because growth starts with commitment.

What you take with you:

• A clear and realistic action plan for the next twelve months
• Concrete KPIs to measure your progress
• Feedback and support from peers who have dealt with similar experiences to your own
• A network of entrepreneurs that you can still call on when the programme is over

Module 7 Access to Entrepreneurship Day

Participation in this programme gives you free admission to Vlerick’s annual Entrepreneurship Day. On this day full of inspiring sessions, Vlerick professors introduce new topics, all of which are linked to practical testimonials from entrepreneurs. It is an excellent opportunity to broaden your horizons and extend your network beyond your own Excellence Lab group.

Reflection on the session: your personal one-pager

After each module, you fill in a personal one-pager – a call to action for yourself. Take it back to your company, and share one or two points with the group at the next session, if you wish.

The one-pager is always centred on five questions:

• What is my biggest insight today?
• What concrete action am I going to take next week?
• What specific thing am I going to apply in my company?
• Which team members am I going to involve?
• What question will I take to the next session or the finale?

Why is this different?

• Zero fluff. Each session gives you concrete insights and a completed call to action form that you can apply in your company straight away.
• The power of the group. You learn at least as much from the other entrepreneurs as from the experts themselves.
• Immediate results. The optimisations you apply often earn back your course fees before the programme is even over.
• From feeling out of control to giving direction. By the end, you have a ‘user manual’ and a concrete first step to take the very next day.

• Discover how you can use targeted AI for finance, forecasting and investments
• Learn to consciously adjust your leadership style based on concrete 360° feedback
• Gain insight into how you can convert geopolitical risks and international opportunities into a more robust business model
• Learn to break down resistance to change and build an adoption culture
• Learn what your digital vulnerabilities are and how to tackle them
• Present your plan to the group and a jury, and go home with a well-founded action plan

• This programme is intended for alumni of the KMO Excellence, KMO Challenge, Challenge Bootcamp, MBA or Masters' programmes, who own a company that employs at least 10 FTEs, and who want to increase their professionalisation and gain inspiration.

• Seven face-to-face sessions over 1 to 1½ years. Each session lasts one and a half days, except for the 360° coaching, the final presentation and Vlerick Entrepreneurship Day. This amounts to a total of nine training days.